MUMBAI: Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), which is developing the 417-square kilometre Khalifa industrial zone (Kizad) between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is eyeing an $45-50-billion worth of investments from Indian companies by 2015, a senior company official today said.

ADPC targets a 12-15 per cent of the total investments from Indian companies in Kizad. It is also expecting around $45-50 billion investments from Indian companies by 2015, APDC Executive Vice-President (Industrial Zones) Khaled Salmeen told reporters here.

" India and the UAE have a long history of trade and business relations that facilitates our presence. We believe that Kizad offers Indian businesses a great opportunity to expand their presence with facilities and advantages that justify doing business in Abu Dhabi," he said.

The company, which has completed the first phase of the project of 51 square kilometre with an investment of around AED 26.5 billion or $7.2 billion, has signed MoUs with 23 companies from different countries for setting up their operations in Abu Dhabi.

ADPC has launched an international marketing campaign wherein it plans to visit six countries including the US, Germany, the UK, South Korea, China and India to showcase the capabilities of Kizad.

"We will be meeting around 200 companies to showcase the capabilities of Kizad and the benefits of investing in the industrial zone in Abu Dhabi.

What we look to offer is the ability for businesses to come here and thrive through efficient access to markets, lower operating costs and a greater ease of doing business," Salmeen said.

The company is in talks with large Indian conglomerates including the Tata Group, Mahindra and Mahindra, Reliance, Larsen & Toubro and Dr Reddy's, among others.

Kizad is a cornerstone of the Abu Dhabi economic vision 2030, which also highlights the drive to diversification of the economy in pursuit of sustainable growth less dependent on the oil and gas industries, he said.

"We want to promote non-oil trade through Kizad. There is a huge uncertainty in the international crude oil prices. We do not want our GDP to get hampered because of the volatility in the oil and gas prices. We expect that by 2030, Kizad will contribute around 15 per cent of Abu Dhabi's non-oil GDP," Salmeen said.